Pressure fluid controlling device



y 1951 P. VAN SITTERT EAL PRESSURE FLUID CONTROLLING DEVICE Original Filed May 12, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l BY 7 7QM,M1, away M ATTORNEYS M y 1951 P. VAN SITTERT EI'AL 2,551,916

PRESSURE FLUID CONTROLLING DEVICE Original Filed May 12, 1941 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5/- 36-l 58 W d'6 37 53 66 38' I 45 40 "T 4 43 I 4 INVENTORS P404 VIP/V SITTERT ATTORNEYS Patented May 8, 1951 I PRESSURE FLUID CONTROLLING DEVICE Paul Van Sittert, Shaker Heights, and Lloyd G. Speth, East Cleveland, Ohio, assignors, by mesne assignments, to Reed Roller Bit Company, Houston, Tex., a corporation of Texas Continuation of application Serial No. 393,036, May 12, 1941. This application May 3, 1945,

Serial No. 591,642

7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvement in fluid operated tools, and has reference particularly to tools of this character which are operated by compressed air. As herein illustrated the invention is applied to a rivet squeezer. This application is a continuation of our copending application Serial No. 393,036, filed May 12, 1941, entitled Portable Tool, now abandoned.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of means for limiting the pressure which may be exerted by the tool in doing useful work, for example in formin the head of a rivet, in order that for a given job with a given setting of the tool the effect of the repeated operations of the tool may be uniform.

Another object is the provision of simple, readily adjustable control mechanism for accomplishing the purpose of the invention.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a novel and improved, manually operable, portable fluid pressure operated tool, for example, a rivet squeezer, comprising means for limiting the force or pressure which may be exerted by the tool in such :a manner that the effect of repeated operations of the tool may be uniform.

Other objects and features of novelty will appear from the following description of the preferred embodiment of the invention which, for the purposes of the present application, we have illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a compressed air rivet squeezer embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially on the line 22 of Fig. l on :a somewhat larger scale, showin the control valve mechanism in the position it occupies on the work stroke;

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the control parts in the positions which they occupy when the automatic stop means has functioned;

Fig. 4 is still another view of :a similar character, showing the control mechanism in the idle position;

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view taken substantially on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1; nd

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view taken substantially on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2. q

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawing has to do with a rivet squeezer comprising an anvil Iii carried by an anvil arm'l l which is rigidly connected with .the barrel or body 2 of the tool. In this body there is mounted a bushing l3 in which is operatively supported a plunger I4 having a head l5 which is adapted to engage and upset a rivet R positioned against the anvil ID. A coil spring l6 tends to retract the plunger l4 and maintain its rear end in engagement with a driver that is pivotally connected with the free end of an arm H! which swings about a pivot l9 carried by the body of the tool. The forward extremity of the driver presses against the rear end of the plunger l4, and on one side near its forward extremity it bears upon a hardened plate 20. The two elements l1 and I8 together constitute in effect a toggle joint.

Attached to and forming in effect a part of the body |2 of the tool is a cylinder 2| in which slides a piston 22 provided with a packing rin 23. To the forward side of the piston there is fastened, by means of screws 24 or the like, a bracket 25 with a pair of separate plates in which is mounted a pin 26 that is received by a slot 21 in the rear part of a forwardly extending plate or block 28, the bottom surface of which is cam-shaped for engagement with an anti-friction roller 29 carried upon the pivotal connection 3!] between the toggle elements I and I8. The straight upper side of this plate has bearing against a pair of rollers 3| in the body of the tool. Obviously, as the piston moves forward from its rearmost position, the roller 29 will be cammed downwardly, causing the driver to travel forward, therebymoving the plunger l4 forward to press against the rivet. When the rivet has been headed and the pressure behind the piston 22 has been relieved the piston with the plate 28 is again moved rearwardly by a spring 2|" having its front end anchored in the corresponding end of the cylinder 2| as at 22'.

Formed integral with the closed end of the cylinder 2| there is a substantially cylindrical boss 35 in which is fixedly mounted a sleeve 36. The boss 35 and the sleeve 36 form a chamber within which certain of the control part are located and have registering side openings 3! and 38 respectively, together forming an exhaust port or passage communicating with the aforementioned chamber and atmosphere. These same elements also have registering openings 39 and 40 which together form a connection or outlet passage between the chamber in which the valve mechanism is located and the interior of cylinder 2|. Boss 35 has an internal downwardly facing ledge 4| serving-as arest for the flared end of a 3 nipple 42 rotatable within a hollow nut 43 threaded into the lower extremity of the boss 35.

A valve operating plunger 44 is mounted to slide in sleeve 36, being urged to the position of Fig. 4 by. a .coilspring 4.5 which-bears against the low end of the-plunger 'l44 and against an-internal abutment on the lower end of sleeve 36. In the lower end of this sleeve there is a central opening 46 constituting an inlet port, this opening having its external marginal edge-formingavalve seat for an inlet valve member. carriedatthe lower extremity of a valve stem 49 which extends upwardly through the port 46,- through axial bores 56 and in the plunger 44,*and' at timesinto a transverse bore 52 also in the plunger. Intermediate its ends the stem 4'9iisprovided'with an enlargement 53 which takesbearing against the walls of bore 56. The valve piece 48 with its stem 49 and enlargement 53 is urged upwardly by a coil spring 54. Through the enlargement '53 there isasmall bleed passage 55the function of which is'to'prevent the building up of pressure above the enlargement 53, whichawould tend to-interfere with the movementof the valve'stem in the upward direction. In communication at timeswith the axialbore 59 in the plunger there is a passage 56 which may function-to openthe exhaust 'port- 38.

. In .thetransverse passage 52 there is mounted a pellet.51 which isurgedtowards the position of Figs. 2-and 4 by a leaf spring 58, thelower end of which-is setinto .a hole inv theplunger 44 while its .upper end is set intoa hole in-the pellet. When the pellet is i in the. position illustrated in these two figures the relative positions of the twoelements 44 and 49 aremaintained as. shown. One end of the pellet i5'l projects, through -.a vertical slot 5'! in thesleeve 36, so that it mayimove with the plunger 44 while in.its,projecting. position. The pellet 51 hasa socket59 therein which is adapted-to receive the upper extremity of valve stem 49, as illustrated in Fig.3.

Extending laterally. from theupper end of valve boss 35 there is a substantially.cylindricahprojection'66 having a bore '60 extending there-.

through into the boss-35. The bore 60 is also incommunication'with theinterior of the cylinder 2| through'a passage'6l. In the bore 66' there is a hollow plunger 62,which may be a sheet metal shell the closed extremity of which is adapted'to bear againstthe pellet 51. A coil spring 63 tends to move this plunger outwardly to-the position ofFigs. 2 and '4, the spring bearing against'the head of an' adjusting pin64 and against an internalflange 62 on the open end of the plunger. The pin 64 has a threaded portion 65 which is screwed into a stationary bushing 66 that is in turnthreaded into the cylinder 69 and has a'constricted inner end which serves as a stop for the plunger 62 and is slotted as'indicatedat 61 iniFi'gsg lrand'l inorder tofacilitate the .flow'of airrinto the'bore S'U' from theipassa'ge 6i. Sleeve 66rhas ahex head 68:andipin%6'4 has a hex'head169. T0 is aisleeve'with hexagonal internal surfaceszwhich are adapted toifit the hex heads 68 -and 69. 'Axcoil spring! I' hasrits 'inner end weldedor otherwise :anchored .to the sleeve 'Hland has its-outer end 'bearingzagainst thehex head69. "The operator may. grasprthesleeve 16,

which ispreferablyknurled onits outer surface,

:pullit outsufficiently to clear the hex'head 68, andthen turn it to move pin 64-for the 'purpose of adj usting -the tension 1 of spring 63, after which -he'=may =let 7116"313111'1311'1'16511111 the :sleeve into lockingengagement-with' the .hexhead 68. The

adjustment is thereby maintained against accidental movement.

If the plunger 44 were conveniently positioned for the purpose it could be depressed directly by the thumb of the operator. -But when the operator is grasping the toolandholding itin proper position with respect to the work, his thumb is out of range of the plunger 44 and his other hand may be occupied with holding the work. Accordingly we provide an actuating arm 15 which bearsat its free end against the top of plunger 44 and is securedr'at its opposite end to a rock shaft 'lfiathat ismounted in suitable bearings on the" bodyrlZ of thetool. The forward end of this .shaftcarries a thumb piece, not shown. When 'Zthethumb pieceis'depressed, the shaft 16 is rocked to shi'ftthe arm 15 from the position of Fig. 4 to that of Figs. 2 and 3, and when pressure on' thethumb piece is relieved, the springs 45 and 54 tend to return the plunger 44 to its elevated position and th us to swing arm 75' back to .the positionof Fig; 4.

Operation-The normal position of the control parts is illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawing, where thesinletport 46 is closed by valvepiece 48 engaging the valve seat at the lower end of the port .46, and where the *exhaust port 31, 38 is open, the passage 38 being-cleared by the plunger44 .sothat' the passage 40, 39 from cylinder 2| is open to atmosphere. Now when'the operator-is ready to'upset'arivet he causes the plunger 44-tobe depressed from the position of Fig. 4 to that of Fig. 2. On'account of-pellet-5'l holding'the elements 44 and 49 against movement relatively inward with respect to each other, whenthe plunger is depressed against the action of spring '45 the stem 49 is depressed to'the same extent against the action of spring 54. This carries-the passage 56, closed by the enlargement 53, into register with the port 31, 38 thereby blocking off the exhaust. port. The same movement unseats inlet .valve 48. Air under pressure then flows from the supply through nipple 42 and passage-45 into thecylinder 2| via the passages 4!] and 39, forcing the piston 22 to-the left and operating the plunger I4. At the start of this operation, the tensionof the spring 63 active on the inner flange .62 of the hollow plunger 62 is calculated to overcome-the normal pressure of the compressed air admitted from the cylinder 2| into the-plunger 62 through the passage 6|, which pressure is exerted against the inner face of the closed end of the plunger. As work progresses, the working stroke of the plunger I4 is met with gradually-increasing resistance resulting from'the increased area of therivet R subjected to 'com- .pression, consequently causing the pressure :in the :cylinder2l to buildup to a predetermined maximum necessary for effecting proper'upsettingof the rivet. When the pressure 'inrcylinder 2l-has reached its'aforesaid' maximum, its action on the inner'face of the closed end of the hollow plunger-62 will overcome the-efiect of the spring 63:and' leaf spring 58, causing the plunger 521t0 slide inwardly and the pellet 5'! to slide'tothe left :until its socket 59 is positioned to receive the upper end of the stem49. In'this instance, the stem 49'isi'free to-respond to the'action of the spring 54, whereupon it rises to the position of Fig. 3 whichclosesthe inlet valve 48 for preventing further admission of compressedair into the cylinder 2| and causes theenlargement'53 'to clear the passage 56, thereby effecting exhausto'f the "motive fluid from'the cylinder "2| through-the "ports '39, 4'0, 56, 38 :and'31'preparatory to the return stroke of the piston 22 by the spring 2|. By adjustment of the tension of the spring 63 therefore it is possible to control within comparatively fine limits the maximum pressure which may be exerted by the tool, with obvious advantages in the character of the work done.

After the rivet is upset and the control parts have assumed th position of Fig. 3 it is immaterial how long the operator may keep the plunger 44 depressed. The discharge of air from the cylinder 2| of course relieves the pressure on the hollow plunger 62, and the spring 63 returns the plunger to the position of Figs. 2 and 4. The pellet 51, however, can not return to its normal position crosswise of the plunger until the operator relieves his pressure on the plunger 44. Then the spring 65 raises plunger 44 independently of stem 49, thereby carrying pellet 5'! to a position 7 above the end of stem d9, whereupon spring 58 slides the pellet to the position of Fig. 4, and the apparatus is ready for the next cycle of opera-- and a novel and improved fluid pressure operated tool, such as, a rivet squeezer comprising means for limiting the force or pressure exerted thereby so that the effect of repeated operations of the tool will be uniform. While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described with considerable detail, it is to be understod that the invention is not limited to the particular construction shown and it is our intention to hereby cover all adaptations, modifications and uses thereof which come within the practice of those skilled in the art to which the invention relates and within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In a pneumatic tool including a motor casing having motive fluid supplied thereto for actuating a motor element; a pressure fluid controlling device comprising a valve housing having a chamber, an inlet passage communicating with said chamber and adapted to be connected to a source of pressure fluid, an outlet passage opening into said chamber and casing; means for controlling the flow of pressure fluid from said inlet passage to said outlet passage comprising two relatively movable elements supported in said chamber; means for normally retaining said elements in position to disconnect said outlet passage from said inlet passage; means for normally spacing said elements in predetermined relative position for movement as a unit in a direction to connect said outlet passage with said inlet passage; a member movably supported in said casing; and actuating means for said member responsive to a predetermined pressure of the motive fluid in said casing for moving said member to render said spacer means inoperative to retain said elements in said predetermined relative position.

2. In a pneumatic tool including a motor casing having motive fluid supplied thereto for actuating a motor element; a pressure fluid controlling device comprising a valve housing having a first chamber, a second chamber, a first inlet passage communicating with said first chamber and adapted to be connected to a source of pressure fluid,- an outlet passage opening into said first chamber and casing, a second inlet passage leading from said casing to said second chamber; means for controlling the flow of pressure fluid to said outlet passage comprising two relatively movable elements supported in said first chamber; means for normally retaining said elements in position to disconnect said outlet passage from said first inlet passage; means for normally spacing said elements in predetermined relative position for movement as a unit in a direction to connect said outlet passage with said first inlet passage; and a member movably supported in said second chamber and responsive to pressure fluid admitted thereto through said second inlet passage to render said spacer means inoperative to retain said elements in said predetermined relative position.

3. In a pneumatic tool including a motor casing having motive fluid supplied thereto for actuating a motor element; a pressure fluid controlling device comprising a valve housing having a first chamber, a second chamber, an exhaust passage communicating with said first chamber and with atmosphere, an outlet passage opening into said first chamber and casing, a first inlet passage communicating with said first chamber and adapted to be connected to a source of pressure fluid, and a second inlet passage leadingfrom said casing to said second chamber; means for controlling the flow of fluid to and from said outlet passage comprising two relatively movable elements slidably supported in said first chamber; means for normally retaining said elements in position to connect said outlet passage with said exhaust passage and to disconnect said outlet passage with said first inlet passage; means for normally spacing said elements in predetermined relative position for movement as a unit in a direction to disconnect said outlet passage from said exhaust passage and connect said outlet passage with said first inlet passage; and a member movably supported in said second chamber and responsive to pressure fluid admitted thereto through said second inlet passage to render said spacer means inoperative to retain said elements in said predetermined relative position.

4. In a pneumatic tool including a motor casing having motive fluid supplied thereto for actuating a motor element; a pressure fluid controlling device comprising a valve housing having a first chamber, a second chamber, a first inlet passage communicating with said first chamber and adapted to be connected to a source of pressure fluid, an outlet passage communicating with said first chamber, and a second inlet passage communicating with said second chamber; means adapted for connecting said outlet passage with said second inlet passage, means for controlling the flow of pressure fluid to said outlet passage comprising two relatively movable elements slidably supported in said first chamber; means normally retaining said elements in position to disconnect said outlet passage from said first inlet passage; means for normally spacing said elements in predetermined relative position for movement as a unit in a direction to connect said outlet passage with said first inlet passage; and a member movably supported in said second chamber and responsive to pressure fluid admitted thereto through said second inlet passage for shifting said spacer means laterally of the direction of relative motion therebetween to render the same inoperative ,to retain said elements in said predetermined relative position.

assume -5. Ida pneumatic'tool includin'gia 'motor' casing having motive fluid supplied theretoifor actuating a *motor element; 1 a pressure fluid controlling "device-comprising a valve housing "having xat first "chamber, a *secondehamberpah outlet passage opening intosaid "first chamber and casing-"a first inlet 1 passage communicating with sai'd first "chamber and a'daptedto be connected'to a source of pressure fluid, and a" secondv inlet pass-ageleadingifrom said I casing 1 to said second "chamber;

means Ifor controlling the'flow of fluid :to and from said outlet passa'ge com rising'aimanually movable member-slidably supported in said first chamber, a valve member slidably supported in said first chamberymeans for normallyretaining said valve memberin position to disconnect said outlet pass'a'ge with saidfirst inlet passage; means for normally spacing said manually movable memberand said'valve member in predetermined relative position for linear movement-as a unit in-a direction to connect said outlet passage with said first inlet passage; a piston movably "supported in said second "chamber and responsiveto 'pressure fluid admitted thereto through said second inlet passage to render said spacer meansin- "atmosphere, an outlet passage communicating with said. first chamber. and casing, a firstinlet passagecommunicatin'g with said first chamber and'adapted to beconnected to a source of pressure fluid, and :asecond inlet passage leading from. said casing tosaid second chamber; means for controlling the'fiow of fluid toand'from said outlet passage comprising .a manually operable member slidably supported insaidifirst chamber, a .valve member slidably supported inisaid'first chamber resilient means for normally retaining said valvgme'mber in position'to connectsaid outlet passage with said exhaust passage and to disconnect said outletpassage with saidinlet'passageya spacer member slidably supported in said manually operable means for normally maintaining :said manually operable member and said valve'member inl redetermined relative position for linear movement as a unit in a directionto disconnect-said outlet passage from said exhaust passage andconnect said outlet passage with "said first inlet passage; a piston movably supported in'said second chamber to one side of said second inlet passage; means-for operativ'elyconnecting said spacer member and said piston whereby movement 'of said piston in response'to pressure fluid admittedto said second chamber'through said'second inlet passage moves said spacer" means to a position where it is inoperative to retain-said members in said predetermined relative position;

and adjustable resilient means for re's'isting's'aid movement of said piston.

7. In a pneumatic tool including a motor casing having motive fluid supplied thereto for actuating a motor element; a pressure 'fluid controlling device'comprising avalve housing having a first chamber, a second chamberfan outlet passage 'constantly opened in said first chamber, afirst inlet passage communicating with said first chamber and adapted to be connected toa source of motive fluid, and a second inlet passage communicating with said outletpassa'ge and said second chamber; v-alvemea'ns for openingor closing said first inlet passage comprising two relatively movable elements supported in said first chamber; means'for' normally retaining said elements in position to close said first inlet passage; means 'fornormally spacing saidelements in predetermined relative position for movement as a 'unit'in a direction to open said first inlet passage; a memberm'ovably supported in said second chamber, and means responsive to the attainment of a predetermined pressure of fiuid-admittedinto said second chamber'through said second inlet passage for moving said member to render said spacer'meansinope'rative to retain said elements in'sai'd predetermined position.

PAUL VAN SITTERLT. LLOYD 'GQSPETH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS "Number Name Date 1,768,275 Urton June 24, 1930 1,855,348 Hamilton Apr. 26, 1932 1,890,847 Flory Dec. 13, 1932 2,246,379 Muir June 17, 1941 2,313,843 Shaft Mar. 16, 1943 

